Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 23 to 27.
SOCIAL NETWORK
A 16-year-old girl from Essex has been sacked after describing her job as boring on the social networking website, Facebook. The teenager, who had been working (23) _____ an administrative assistant at a marketing company for just three weeks, didn’t feel very enthusiastic about the duties she was asked to do. (24) _____ of moaning to her friends she decided to express her thoughts on her Facebook page to a colleague, who (25) _____ the boss’s attention to it. He immediately fired her on the (26) _____ that her public display of dissatisfaction made it impossible for her to continue working for the company. She later told newspapers she had been treated totally unfairly, especially as she hadn’t even mentioned the company’s name. She claimed she’s been perfectly happy with her job and that her light-hearted comments shouldn’t (27) _____ taken seriously. A spokesperson from a workers’ union said the incident demonstrated two things: firstly, that people need to protect their privacy online and secondly, that employers should be less sensitive to criticism.
(24)
A.Due       
B.Regardless        
C.Instead 
D. In spite

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the underlined part that needs correction in each of the following questions.
(A) Having finished his term paper (B) before the deadline, (C) it was delivered to the (D) professor before the class.
A.Having finished
B.before the
C.it was delivered
D.professor before

Hoa is asking Hai, who is sitting at a corner of the room, seeming too shy. - Hoa: "Why aren't you taking part in our activities? ________ .” - Hai: "Yes, I can. Certainly."
A.Shall I take your hat off?
B.Can you help me with this decorations?
C.Can I help you?
D.Could you please show me how to get the nearest post office?

Read the following passage and mark the letter A. B. C. or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 35 to 42.
Biological diversity has become widely recognized as a critical conservation issue only in the past two decades. The rapid destruction of the tropical rain forests, which are the ecosystems with the highest known species diversity on Earth, has awakened people to the importance and fragility of biological diversity. The high rate of species extinctions in these environments is jolting, but it is important to recognize the significance of biological diversity in all ecosystems. As the human population continues to expand, it will negatively affect one after another of Earth’s ecosystems. In terrestrial ecosystems and in fringe marine ecosystems (such as wetlands), the most common problem is habitat destruction. In most situations, the result is irreversible. Now humans are beginning to destroy marine ecosystems through other types of activities, such as disposal and runoff of poisonous waste; in less than two centuries, by significantly reducing the variety of species on Earth, they have irrevocably redirected the course of evolution.
Certainly, there have been periods in Earth’s history when mass extinctions have occurred. The extinction of the dinosaurs was caused by some physical event, either climatic or cosmic. There have also been less dramatic extinctions, as when natural competition between species reached an extreme conclusion. Only 0.01 percent of the species that have lived on Earth have survived to the present, and it was largely chance that determined which species survived and which died out.
However, nothing has ever equaled the magnitude and speed with which the human species is altering the physical and chemical world and demolishing the environment. In fact, there is wide agreement that it is the rate of change humans are inflicting, even more than the changes themselves, that will lead to biological devastation. Life on Earth has continually been in flux as slow physical and chemical changes have occurred on Earth, but life needs time to adapt-time for migration and genetic adaptation within existing species and time for the proliferation of new genetic material and new species that may be able to survive in new environments.
(Source: Internet)
Which of the following statements would the author be most likely to agree with?
A.Humans should be more conscious of the influence they have on ecosystems.
B.Technology will provide solutions to problems caused by the destruction of ecosystems.
C.Human influence on ecosystems should not be a factor in determining public policy.
D.The extinction of a few species is an acceptable consequence of human progress.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 43 to 50.
The United Nations recently outlined the extent of the global water crisis, saying that 2.7 billion people would face severe water shortages by 2025 if consumption continues at current rates. Today, an estimated 1.2 billion people drink unclean water, and about 2.5 billion lack proper toilets or waste disposal systems. More than five million people die each year from diseases related to unclean water. Humans are pumping water out of the ground faster than it can be replenished. In this difficult situation, a water conservationist, Neil MacLeod in South Africa, has found innovative ways to improve his local water situation.
Neil MacLeod took over as head of Durban Metro Water Services in 1992. The situation he found was a catastrophe. Durban had one million people living in the city and another 1.5 million people who lived in poverty just outside it. The entire city was rife with broken water pipes, leaky toilets, and faulty plumbing whereby 42 percent of the region's water was simply being wasted.
MacLeod's crews began repairing and replacing water pipes. They put water meters on residences, replaced eight-liter toilets with four-liter models, and changed wasteful showers and water taps. To ensure that the poor would receive a basic supply of water, MacLeod installed tanks in homes and apartments to provide 190 liters of water a day free to each household. Water consumption in Durban is now less than it was in 1996, even as 800,000 more people have received service. Through sensible water use, Durban's conservation measures paid for themselves within a year. No new reservoirs will be needed in the coming decades, despite the expected addition of about 300,000 inhabitants.
MacLeod has also turned to water recycling. At the water recycling plant, wastewater is turned into clean water in just 12 hours. Most people are unable to discern a difference between the usual city drinking water and the treated wastewater, although it is actually intended for industrial purposes.
Some people still hope that new technology, such as the desalination of seawater, will solve the world's water problems. "But the fact is, water conservation is where the big gains are to be made," says Sandra Postel of the Global Water Policy Project. The dedication and resourcefulness of people like Neil MacLeod offer inspiration for implementing timely and lasting solutions to the world's water concern.
(Adopted from “Reading Explorer 4” by Paul MacIntyre and David Bohlke)
According to the passage, how many people have to drink unclean water worldwide?
A.2.5 billion   
B.About 5 million  
C.2.7 billion 
D.Around 1.2 billion

You look pale. It's time you............
A.relaxe
B.relaxed          
C.had relaxed   
D.relaxes

A.parent
B.attempt
C.women
D.dinner

All of the following are true EXCEPT that _________.
A.spiders have a different body structure from that of insects
B.spiders have various colors and mostly live for a year
C.special spiders can spin a web and catch insects by it
D.spiders use poisons to make their food into a liquid

Mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word whose underline part is pronounced differently from that of the others.

A.threaten                   
B.breathe                    
C.healthy                    
D.earth

Choose the sentence A, B, C or D  which is closest meaning to the sentence above
The bag was heavy, so we could not take it with us. 
A.If the bag was not heavy, we would take it with us. 
B.Unless the bag had not been heavy, we would have taken it with us. 
C.If had the bag not been heavy, we would have taken it with us. 
D.Had the bag not been heavy, we would have taken it with us